Broken ✞ Max Verstappen x OC x George Russell

Ⲥⲏⲇⲣⲧⲉⲅ 7

♪ I used to think I was smart
But you made me look so naive ♪

Max Verstappen POV

We were leaving the garage, me, Christian, and Jos, with Ava by my side. Ava is a friend and ex-girlfriend. We were together for a year before we broke up, we weren't on the best terms but we spoke again in 2021 when she asked to see me after being diagnosed with a terminal illness, she was a shadow of the Ava I once knew and I agreed to see her because she wanted closure.

Also, Skylar agreed to it at the time or I would've never gone ahead with it if there was any possible problem. Ava's illness was deemed in remission in 2022, a month after Skylar left. A new problem arose when my dad was distracted and collided with a hurried Skylar, who completely fell back with the strength of the encounter.

"Fucking hell! Are you alright?" Joseph's voice is heard before we get a change to react, he kneels and tries to lift her but she shakes her head.

"Don't- Don't do that, please. Give me a second or this won't end well." She asks him in a lower tone and he nods as worry fills his face.

"Do you want me to take you to the medical center once you are able to get up?" His worry seemed a bit much for a little fall so I rolled my eyes annoyed. Who is her next target? George?

"Skylar?" My dad asks surprisedly. My dad doesn't like a lot of people, he hates Ava if we are being honest, he hates anything that is a distraction but Skylar, oh, he loved her. He stopped being a prick the moment she entered a room he was in.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you." She says without even looking up.

"Why didn't you tell me she was back?" My dad asks almost outraged.

"It's nothing important, she wasn't here yesterday so I thought it was a one-time thing. We should get going," I say as I prepare to pass by her side.

"Thank you," she says as she finally gets up with Joseph's help and tries to rearrange her clothes.

"It's so good to see you! You don't look too good," Ava's excited words caught Skylar's immediate attention but she wasn't as surprised as I hoped she would be. Ava was supposed to be long gone by now.

"Ava, you look better though. Good for you!" Skylar says with a smirk and rolls her eyes.

"Maybe we can get some coffee and catch up," Ava's suggestion is met with Skylar's laugh.

"Yeah... No!" Skylar blankly says and looks at Joseph. "I'm fine, thank you for worrying, I am still intact."

"Tell me if you need something," he says before heading inside our garage once again.

"Great to see you Jos." She says as she prepares to leave.

"I think we need to talk. Don't you think?" My dad asks as he crosses his arms.

"I actually don't. I have had 3 different conversations like this so I will give you the general answer. I don't owe any justification to anyone. I did what I did. Deal with it. Or maybe don't. Not my problem." She says all matter-of-factly, and it rubbed me the wrong way.

"What about me? You don't owe me anything?" I ask as anger starts filling my chest.

"Do you think I owe you anything? What about what you owe me?" Her reaction definitely took me for a loop. What the fuck have I done?

"Can we get it all straightened out then?"

"There is nothing to straight out. It's all pretty clear to me. Enjoy the race tomorrow, Ava."

She left. Just like that. She left me again with doubts. Ava tried touching my hand but I just started walking fast to the media pen. I need to end this fucking day. This is not getting any better.

"She used to be a good influence but now she won't be. Don't let her affect you, she fooled us all. We can't let it happen again," my dad says as we leave the paddock, the day is finally ending.

"I don't need the fucking lecture. I am fine." I answer coldly as I just try to leave between the crowd, I signed some stuff and took some pictures along the way and the car was ready to drive us to the hotel. I sat in the back with Ava and wondered if it was really a good idea.

"I can't say I didn't warn you but it must still be hard to see someone you loved so much," Ava says trying to be comforting.

"You were no better, you left me once you saw that I wasn't going to be a champion and came back when you knew Red Bull was climbing up. Thank you for warning me, I thought I would be better off believing the woman I loved."

The rest of the ride was silent. I darted to my hotel room and took a shower but the phrases Ava told me 2 years ago kept repeating in my head.

"Why is she always gone?" Ava would ask when Sky's disappearances were at an all-time high. She would disappear 5 times a day out of nowhere when the end of the season came.

"Why is she guarding her phone so much? Do you think she met someone?" Ava asked me once before I lectured her on respecting Sky. Was that it? I never found out.

"She is so closed-off. She no longer talks to people."

"Why does she run from you? You can't even touch her now."

"I don't think she loves you. That relationship seems to be at rock bottom. You should talk to her."

The worst thing is that she was right. I ignored it all because I could handle it all if I had Sky by my side, but once she left my side, I suddenly overheard those phrases for hours. I wondered what I had missed and where I went wrong. I loved Sky with my whole being, but she didn't love me. Not enough to stay.